The upper East Side Neighborhood Associations have collaborated and obtained an agreement with the UWM administration that attempts to address the issues that affect our neighborhood in a more meaningful way. With the acquisition of the former Columbia Hospital property, UWM's plans for that area (now known as the Northwest Quadrant) were a cause of great concern to the neighboring residents. The University requested a change in the zoning for that area that would give them a greater degree of flexibility while planning for future uses for the property--most other colleges and universities in the state operate under the same zoning regulations they were requesting.

However, because of the problems the neighborhoods have experienced, the NA's felt it was imperative that we bargain for a framework and a process that will demonstrate a formal communication structure, methods that have measurable goals that all parties agree upon, accountability to meeting those goals, and using best practices used by other institutions when coping with many of the same issues. Led by Murray Hill NA President Steve Klebar and Mariners NA President Bill Werner, with the assistance of Alderman Nik Kovac an agreement was completed and signed by the Chancellor of the University to build this framework and begin addressing some of the serious issues created by the expansion of the university over the past ten years.Solving these complex issues will require input not only from the University, it's students and local residents, but city officials, Milwaukee Police Department, Department of Neighborhood Services, City Attorneys, Department of Public Works among others.

While a degree of skepticism remains, the agreement is seen as a confidence builder that will lead to improvement in the quality of life for our all our residents and our neighborhoods. As a result of the agreement between the NAs and UWM, the committee agreed to make the change, but not without extended dialog between all parties at the hearing.

Attached are two items--the first is the letter of agreement signed by the Chancellor committing to building this framework by July 1 and the second a video of the proceedings of the Zoning and Neighborhood Development Committee.